


Ones Who Study

by redradioflyer



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 13:34:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16833634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redradioflyer/pseuds/redradioflyer
Summary: Alfred is a marine biologist who manages to be part of the team that captures the first mermaid. Why in the world does the mermaid have to be so flirty though?!One-shot





	Ones Who Study

Alfred is really damn tired of all the teasing he’s getting from the staff members. As he walks around the outside of the tank, the merman they found- affectionately called ‘Al’ because of how much he adores Alfred- follows along on the opposite side of the glass. The merman gestures and dances and swims in just the right way to show off his deep red fins and tail.

“I think he’s peacocking for you again, Jones,” another man calls out to him, and Alfred blushes darker red.

“Yeah yeah, I know.”

This should be the dream job- and it is for the most part- because they had captured the first known merperson. Alfred had been in the crew that had snagged it, and he had been the one that even tagged the animal’s ear with a plastic numbered tag. Perhaps that moment actually led him to all this flirting.

When he’d leaned down next to the drowsy tranquilized animal, Alfred had gently turned the animal’s face up toward him and positioned the machine. Alfred was well aware of the sharp pain that comes with piercing, and he had felt bad when the barely conscious merman squirms away from his hands. Instantly feeling guilty, Alfred gently cradled the poor creature’s face and stroked his hair. He’d shushed him and cooed at him, and the animal had smiled at him. Then the merman had curled close around him, and Alfred had held him while he finally succumbed to the tranquilizers.

Now Alfred’s not even sure why they had tagged it at all. They’d been worried that it would get loose before they got back to their facility with it, and they’d thought it was a good idea to tag him immediately. At this point, as he’s the only specimen of his species that they have, they’re quite unlikely to let him go.

Regardless, all that gentleness in that moment had made the merman very fond of him. It’s no over exaggeration to say that Alfred is the animal’s favorite marine biologist in the whole place. This would be awesome if that fondness didn’t manifest in quite so flirtatious and sexual a manner. The peacocking and cooing and touching that always happen when working with the merman is rather exhausting for Alfred.

As he finally rounds the corner where the glass gives way to the wall, Alfred turns to see the merman at the edge of the glass, one webbed hand pressed against the glass. His expression is pleading and full of hurt yet still oddly hopeful. What a strange animal…

But Alfred isn’t a cruel person, and he knows that the animal just doesn’t understand things very well. So he offers the animal a little wave and a smile before he points toward the surface. He is trying to say that he’s coming to visit with gestures, and the merman seems to understand. His face lights up with excitement, and he races off toward the surface of the water.

—

Alfred is the last person in this part of the facility for the night. He’d spent more time with the merman than he’d intended, and he has other obligations. As he exits his shower, he dries himself off, and he pulls his clothes on to go home. He’s tired from the day’s work and he is already planning on what fast food to pick on the way home.

When he opens the door to the locker room, though, all thoughts of food are out of his head. There’s someone singing- a haunting beautiful sort of melody. Although the song is a language that Alfred doesn’t understand, the longing in the song is almost palpable. Alfred is startled by how deeply this song draws him, and he makes his way down the hall toward the sound almost trance-like.

Of course, it registers that he’s headed straight for the merman’s enclosure, but still he continues. Though the door should be sealed shut, he doesn’t have to put a passcode in. The door swings in as he gets close, and he walks through. The merman with his strangely colored red-purple hair, smooth tanned skin, and bright red eyes is laying out on one of the ‘sunning rocks,’ and he’s singing his heart out.

When Alfred enters, the merman stretches his arms out towards him, and Alfred responds instinctually by reaching out as well. The merman smiles as he keeps singing, and Alfred can see his sharp teeth. Stories about man eating merpeople calling men to their deaths come to his mind, but Alfred can’t help it.

“You sing so beautifully,” Alfred murmurs as he finally takes hold of the merman’s hand.

The merman pulls him closer, song starting to slowly start to fade out. When Alfred is close, the merman leans in, and their lips just barely touch. A few brief seconds of just utter enchantment before the merman makes his move.

He takes a grip on Alfred and lunges back into the water. The initial rush of water has Alfred too surprised to react, and only when he’s in the water and utterly captured by the merman does he realize he needs to struggle. It’s hard though because he hadn’t gotten a good breath of air before he’s in the water. On the upside, he’s not having his throat mauled out or his flesh eaten, but the merman is forcing something into his mouth. He resists and struggles, but the other is much stronger in the water than he is.

The merman gets the better of him finally and something that tastes like salt and fish and seaweed is shoved in his mouth. It comes along with a mouthful of water, and then the merman’s webbed hand is over his lips to keep him from spitting it out. Alfred realizes that he’s going to have to swallow whatever this awful thing is, and after another moment of trying to spit it out, he gives in and swallows it down before clawing toward the surface of the water.

Now that he’s swallowed whatever the animal had given him, Alfred is let go to swim to the surface. He breaks the top of the water, gasping and coughing. The merman comes up after him, and he pins him to the wall of the pool.

The merman makes a trilling utterly pleased sound and starts to babble in that way he always does. Something is different now though. Pain spikes through Alfred’s head and neck- intense but brief- before the babbling is settling into words that Alfred understands.

“You hear me? You understand? You can understand right? The magic worked???”

Alfred reels back and when he responds, for just a moment the sounds that come out of his mouth is English before it becomes that strange merman babble. It almost feels like there’s a bubble in his throat turning his words into something the merman can understand.

“Whoa what the fuck you can speak??”

“Of course~” the merman says. Then he gets excited and begins to gush. “Oh I’ve been wanting to talk to you for aaaages. Your name is Alfred right? God what a lovely name~”

Then the merman is grabbing him and trying to kiss him again, but Alfred catches his face, looking into his eyes.

“Christ, you’re not just an animal,” Alfred says, looking into the bright red eyes that are locked on his. “You’re.. you have language… human intelligence.”

The merman softens just ever so slightly and strokes his fingers along Alfred’s cheek. “You are one who studies, and so am I. I understand this is strange for you. But I am just as smart as you.”

Alfred trembles, but all of his curiosity is focused now on this strange creature’s mind. “You uh… you know my name. So uhh, what’s yours?”

“Cyril~” he replies, expression bright and happy. “Call me Cyril.” He’s quiet for just a second. “I’ve been wanting to thank you. For my present!”

“Present??” Alfred’s brows furrow, and he tilts his head.

Cyril lifts his hand up to his ear, cupping his hand behind it. The tag is bright orange and clipped into the tough cartilage of his strangely shaped ear. It looks like a garish earring, and there’s a big black number 1.

“That? That’s not a present… That’s for identifying you.”

“You put these on the sea lions don’t you? You use them to go check up on them! I’ve seen it!” Cyril’s expression becomes almost seductive. “You want to keep track of me~”

Alfred doesn’t have time to comment on the fact that he didn’t put it on him personally but for his group. No, he’s too concerned with something else this strange merman has just revealed.

“You’ve been watching us… You knew we were in that area and you were still hanging around and…”

The grin that Cyril flashes in response is utterly naughty. “Of course. I let you catch me. I really wanted to know you.” He strokes a hand along Alfred’s face. “You’re just so lovely. Then you were just as gentle and heroic as I thought you’d be.”

Alfred’s whole face is bright red now and he clears his throat. “You let yourself get captured so you could get to know me…? Well, um, alright, but don’t you want to go home?”

“I’ll go home when I want to… Right now…” He arches a brow. “I want to kiss you~”

“Whoa hold up, too fast.” Alfred is moving now to climb up and out of the pool. “I don’t kiss on the first date.”

Though he pouts, Cyril does let Alfred escape, and he pulls himself up as well to lay on the side of the pool. “First date?” The merman doesn’t seem to understand. He tilts his head.

“This is wrong,” Alfred says as he looks back to Cyril. “This is so fucked. If I knew you were sentient and of human level intelligent, I’d have never brought you here.” He runs his hands through his hair and tries to figure out what to do.

“I wanted to be brought here with you,” Cyril says, just shrugging. “It’s not always fun being in a glass chamber for them to look at me. But they feed me well and I get to learn about you!”

Alfred looks back toward him and hums softly. “But still… it’s not right for you to be locked up…” He thinks this over. “It’ll be hard to organize a break out though…”

Here he glances up at the camera in the corner of the room, then frowns. The light isn’t on anymore, signaling that it’s off.

Cyril follows his gaze. “Oh that? My magic broke it. The summoning song interfered with some of the electronics I think. There’s some issues with the filters now too, actually.”

Then Alfred makes a decision. The camera is broken, and sure it’d be easy for them to look at him being the last person in the room… but this is as good a chance as any to get this merman back to the ocean. Alfred wouldn’t leave an intelligent creature locked in a fish bowl.

“Can you sing and break the others as well?”

“Probably,” Cyril says, grinning. “Are you busting me out?”

Alfred nods and moves to pick the merman up bridal style. “Yeah, I think I have to. I can’t leave you in here like this.”

“Let’s run away together then~” Cyril slides his hands through Alfred’s hair and looks as though he might go for a kiss again.

“Just hurry up and start singing,” Alfred responds in a huffy tone. “We don’t have a lot of time.”

And so Cyril starts to sing that same beautiful longing song, but this time Alfred understands all the words. The lyrics are all about love and want and hope, and hearing it now has him even more drawn to the bewitching creature in his arms.

For now, Alfred tries to ignore the draw that this merman has on him as he helps him back to the ocean. 

Alfred doesn’t yet realize that the merman wouldn’t be letting go of him any time soon.


End file.
